Accolade Hounds

Simply, carefully and responsibly placing hounds into homes

Greyhounds - The Truth

The public's general perception of greyhounds is finally changing and improving general awareness and getting people to understand just how gentle and calm these hounds actually are is all part of Accolade's mission.

Here we try to separate some of the facts about the Greyhound

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The Greyhound may be fast and an incredible athlete but at home they are calm and quiet, often snoozing the day away. As a breed they are generally very laid back. Two fairly short walks on lead everyday is all they require. Other than that, a secure garden at home is an adequate play area for your Greyhound. Greyhounds are not known escape artists, so 6 foot solid fencing is not generally required.

Greyhounds do not find it hard to retire

An ex-racers ideal retirement would be in a loving home, living out the rest of their lives as a lazy family pet. Indeed, they adapt to the life of a family pet with considerable ease. Greyhounds are also quiet dogs who rarely bark and not given to excessive demonstrations.

Greyhounds are very sociable

Greyhounds are by nature gentle creatures who can develop strong relationships with humans. In fact, the Greyhound adores human company.

A greyhound is not too large to live in a small home

Size varies depending on the breeding line but to give a general example, a Greyhound’s height is approximately 25-30 inches and their weight is approximately 28-36 kilos. So yes, the Greyhound is a large dog but light, agile and graceful with it. This breed is not under your feet and does not tend to get in your way every minute of the day. They are often quite happy to just be in the same room with you, most probably snoozing.

They are easily housetrained

Racing Greyhounds are "kennel broken". They have been taught to toilet outside and keep their sleeping areas clean. This knowledge is usually readily transferred to their new lives in the family home.

Greyhounds are good with children

Greyhounds are very gentle and patient animals. However, they do not want to be harassed by anyone, including children. A child to any dog can seem small and annoying. If the Greyhound does feel bothered by a situation, say with an overenthusiastic child, they are more likely to walk away than to snap. Any dog has its limits. Small children must always be supervised when in the company of any breed of dog.

Greyhounds are not difficult to walk on lead

Most Greyhounds have been trained to walk on lead. They prefer to walk on a slack lead. For dogs of their size they are unusually easy to handle. They can be the perfect dog for the infirm and elderly for this very reason.

There is a Greyhound to suit everyone

As a breed, Greyhounds are gentle, affectionate and remarkably calm in temperament. Greyhounds make ideal companions for the elderly. They are very quiet in the home and do not bark and rush around. The discipline of kennel life stands them in very good stead. Many Greyhounds make excellent PAT dogs or other therapy dogs, giving companionship and love to people in nursing homes or people with disabilities.The characteristics of the Greyhound mean that they have become the pet of choice among an increasing number of people.Greyhounds are quiet, unassuming companions who require and demand very little.

Greyhounds are typically 2-5 years of age when they retire and have an average life span of 12-14 years.

Accolade Hounds is a voluntary non-profit organisation that aims to help homeless hounds into homes.